Simulacrum: Chapter One

Simulacrum: Chapter One is a survival horror action adventure game, inspired by the cult series Silent Hill and Resident Evil. It was developed by two independent authors - Andrew Gledhill-Carra and Christopher A. Summer. Although only the first part is currently available, work on the next chapter is in progress. The game can be downloaded for free on Prymordium's profile on GameJolt.

Plot

The main character of Simulacrum is Abigail, a young woman renting an apartment in one of the gloomy housing estates of an unknown city. The game starts when she wakes up from a dream and her attention is caught by a cat's meow. When she goes to the front door with the intention of letting the cat out, she realizes that the handle is missing. At the same time, a bang comes from deep inside the apartment, and when Abigail goes to see what caused it, she notices an unfamiliar painting on the wall. Studying it, she discovers that it is actually a portal to another dimension. At the same time, the painting pulls her into an unfamiliar rust-covered room, trapping her in a nightmare world.

Mechanics

Simulacrum: Chapter One is a game focused primarily on the exploration of numerous, spooky rooms and solving puzzles (we can set their difficulty level before starting the game). There are also various items spread around the locations, which are useful in later stages of the game.

Interactions with monsters in this part have been limited to a minimum. During the game there is one opponent and direct contact with him ends with instant death for the heroine. The monster appears in a specific section of the game. Abigail can't fight it, so in order to pass this stage we have to find the right way to escape.

Technical aspects

Simulacrum: Chapter One was built on the Unity engine. Graphics reminds of the first games from Silent Hill series. The locations have been kept in the dark style typical for this series. Monsters have original designs and they are not copies of the creatures from classic survival horrors. The models of the heroes are simple and thus characteristic. Strong inspiration from Silent Hill can also be seen in the soundtrack itself. Olivia Steele (Abigail) and one of the game's creators, Christopher A. Summer (Murdoch), lend their voices to the characters.